Six classic novels, each in six sentences
Listed by year of first publication. Every page has six sentences of our own, three plates computed from the text, key terms and the sources we read.
- Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen, 1813Jane Austen's comedy of first impressions, read closely and charted from its own words.
- FrankensteinMary Shelley, 1818Mary Shelley's 1818 novel of a maker and his abandoned creation, read closely and charted from its own words.
- Jane EyreCharlotte Brontë, 1847Charlotte Brontë's novel of a poor, fierce governess, read closely and charted from its own words.
- Moby-DickHerman Melville, 1851Herman Melville's sprawling whaling epic, read closely and charted from its own words.
- DraculaBram Stoker, 1897Bram Stoker's tale of a Transylvanian count loose in modern England, read closely and charted from its own words.
- The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925Fitzgerald's short novel of longing and new money, read closely and charted from its own words.
Long and short, bright and dark
“Darker slices” counts how many of a book’s forty slices score below zero for tone. It is a measure of wording, not plot.
- Moby-Dick209,384
- Jane Eyre186,163
- Dracula161,057
- Pride and Prejudice121,850
- Frankenstein71,876
- The Great Gatsby48,402
Word counts from the Project Gutenberg texts, after removing the Gutenberg header, footer and contents pages. Reading time assumes 238 words a minute, a common average for adults reading for pleasure.
Source: our count; reading time at 238 words per minute.
| Book | Author | First published | Words | Chapters | Reading time | Darker slices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pride and Prejudice | Jane Austen | 1813 | 121,850 | 61 | 8 h 32 min | 0 of 40 |
| Frankenstein | Mary Shelley | 1818 | 71,876 | 23 | 5 h 02 min | 14 of 40 |
| Jane Eyre | Charlotte Brontë | 1847 | 186,163 | 38 | 13 h 02 min | 5 of 40 |
| Moby-Dick | Herman Melville | 1851 | 209,384 | 135 | 14 h 40 min | 10 of 40 |
| Dracula | Bram Stoker | 1897 | 161,057 | 27 | 11 h 17 min | 6 of 40 |
| The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | 1925 | 48,402 | 9 | 3 h 23 min | 12 of 40 |